When my children write, they are also at different stages of development. While Eliza relies on her visual memory to remember book spelling, Peter relies on the sounds (or phonemes) he hears in each sound of a word. Rose scribbles on paper and "reads" what she has written.
At home, the children find purpose for their writing. They create dinner menus, dictionaries that introduce their heroes (Peter has been writing about Skylanders - the books, not the video game.), poetry, letters to their friends and grandparents, notes to parents (so that we don't forget what to do), grocery lists, instructions for how to do different things they like, etc. They see themselves as writers and are not (and should not be) detoured by not knowing how to book spell a word.
Reading works in much the same purposeful way for the children. We read for fun, but also to find information, to cook, to enjoy the sounds and rhymes in poetry, to learn about people and their lives, etc.
In short....
- Read and Write for fun.
- Read and Write for purposeful and authentic purposes.
- Know and Respect the process of development in each child.
- Encourage unstructured play, but provide materials that readers and writers have.
- Create unstructured opportunities for children to use oral language.
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